


The Noodle Incident

by Kalloway



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-06-05 04:07:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15162257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalloway/pseuds/Kalloway
Summary: He, Duo Maxwell, was a genius. With a big mouth. At least one of those things was true.And he knew which one.





	The Noodle Incident

**Author's Note:**

  * For [taichara](https://archiveofourown.org/users/taichara/gifts).



> Notes: May 17 – spaghetti, birthday, single. (with love)

Yes, he was a genius. He, Duo Maxwell, was a genius. With a big mouth. At least one of those things was true.

And he knew which one.

But Duo hadn't been able to help himself, when, two customers behind good ol' Preventer Wind at the taco truck, he'd heard another customer ask about the 'Free Taco On Your Birthday' sign. Because Preventer Wind, who Duo could really only think of as Zechs, had then managed an odd half-smile and comment that he'd have to get his free taco on Friday. So the only thing that could come out of Duo's mouth was the obvious and brilliant 'Do you have plans? I'll make you dinner.'

Possibly, Zechs realized how downright brilliant Duo was and promptly agreed, then waited for Duo to get his tacos so they could walk back together.

At least Duo knew one thing - Zechs was capable of eating almost anything and was not hung up on fancy things like oystered quail with cranberry kale quinoa or anything. The tacos were proof of that. They were delicious, and they were very good at keeping one's digestive tract alert.

Now, he had less than an hour until Zechs was due to arrive, having traded information and then promptly barely seen each other again except in passing. Duo rather suspected Zechs might not show up, because possibly someone actually important to him might have spirited him away. Duo was... vaguely a coworker with a bit of an awkward crush that hopefully Zechs didn't actually know about. Though Zechs had to know he was good looking. Didn't he?

Yeah, well, Duo had given up on the idea of making a cake, either from scratch or from a box. Buying one felt like overkill, with only the pair of them to eat it, but at least the little shop with the exceptionally overpriced cupcakes had been open and more than willing to sell him a pair of exceptionally overpriced cupcakes. Hopefully Zechs liked cupcakes.

And spaghetti, since it required few ingredients and very little skill. Hopefully. According to the videos that Duo had watched. It wasn't like anyone could set fire to boiling water, could they? He'd managed to cook a few things before, and they'd been relatively edible and yeah, he needed to stop thinking about that and focus, because he was really overthinking and he knew he could do this.

Apartment looked decent, at least. Guns and half-assembled junk and other, magazine-shaped elements of single-guy-hood had all been stashed behind closed doors, minor vacuuming had been achieved because his very nice elderly neighbor had loaned him a vacuum that, once he'd tinkered with the motor, actually removed dirt and didn't just deposit old cat hair everywhere.

That left the spaghetti. And Zechs. Who was maybe going to show up and expect... hopefully not oystered quails or whatever.

The spaghetti was in and boiling when the buzzer rang and Duo had to stop himself from reaching for the gun he wasn't even carrying. Zechs, if it was Zechs, was right on time. Duo needed to have more people over. Or at least Zechs, more often, if it was Zechs, and that was all a kind of funny thought to be having.

Duo bounded over to the intercom. It could, theoretically, be a trap. A well-planned one, reliant on tacos.

"You're right on time, come on up."

"Thank you," Zechs' voice replied, cool and clear.

Duo hit the button to unlatch the security door. He'd already explained how to do the rest and, well, Zechs seemed to understand apartment buildings well enough.

A minute later, during which Duo had raced back to stir the pasta, there was a soft knock at the door.

And there was Zechs, dressed casually and clutching a bottle of wine, with an awkward-but-amused smile on his face beneath those ever-present sunglasses.

"Nothing fancy," Zechs explained as he offered the bottle. "Don't worry."

"Come in," Duo replied as he took it. "Make yourself at home. I'm sure this will go with spaghetti-which-I-hope-isn't-on-fire."

Zechs laughed and closed the door behind himself. Duo ran to check on the stove, and indeed the spaghetti was boiling over. He was trying to mop up some of the worst of it when Zechs padded into the kitchen, shoes and sunglasses left behind.

"We could have gone out?" Zechs said with a laugh.

"Or gotten more tacos." Duo sighed. "Me and my big mouth sometimes. But it just came out because it felt like a good idea. You actually showed up, too."

"I did get a couple of other offers, but I declined them all. You were the first to ask and I'd already accepted."

"Oh..."

"Where might I find a couple of glasses and a corkscrew?"

"Should be some clean ones up in that cupboard behind you. Corkscrew might... Oh, I have a multitool with one," Duo said as he glanced towards the main room. "Um..."

"I'll keep an eye on the pasta."

While Duo was rummaging for any given multitool, because of course he'd put everything away - and by 'away' he meant 'jumbled up out of the way' - Zechs had pretty much finished cooking. Not that it would have taken much work. Jar of sauce on drained pasta, boom, spaghetti. No mushrooms, just in case.

"Here," Duo said as he gave Zechs the multitool. "Sorry I took so long. It's your birthday, I should be doing all of this."

"Next time you can help me make something at my place," Zechs replied with an odd smile. "You can choose the wine."

"Very funny." Yet Duo didn't quite think he was being insulted.

"I mean it," Zechs insisted as he dug the corkscrew down into the bottle's cork.

A moment later it was open and he was pouring the wine into mismatched tumblers while Duo grabbed for plates. At least he had a little, tiny kitchen table to eat at, with just enough room for two. The cupcakes were already on it, looking festive and definitely boutique-bought.

"Why'd you agree to this?" Duo finally asked as he sat, suddenly very conscious of the fact that not a single one of his dishes or flatware matched.

"Because I wanted to," Zechs replied calmly. "And my offer for a 'next time' was genuine, too."

The table was smaller than Duo remembered. His legs were definitely touching Zechs' legs.

"But why?" Because if there was a chance that his odd bit of a crush was somehow mutual, Duo was pretty sure he'd just slide down off the chair and stay under the table. Not in a suggestive way. Maybe.

"Curiousity, I suppose. And you seem to have good taste in cupcakes."

"An entire cake seemed silly."

"It wouldn't fit on the table anyway."

Duo was suddenly painfully aware that Zechs was making sure that their legs were touching under the table. He grabbed for his glass of wine.

The spaghetti, at least, was decent and edible. The wine was definitely wine and by the time Duo had put away their leftovers and gotten to his cupcake, he was absolutely sure he was a genius and that this had been the best idea ever and...

...aside from a bit of a headache and Zechs' hair in his big mouth, he still felt the same in the morning.


End file.
